Ex-Dodger Darvish: Astros should be stripped of title


Reuters | Updated: 17-02-2020 06:17 IST | Created: 17-02-2020 02:32 IST
Ex-Dodger Darvish: Astros should be stripped of title
Representative image Image Credit: Twitter (@Dodgers)

Former Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Yu Darvish said Sunday that the Houston Astros should not have the right to call themselves 2017 World Series champions. Darvish, who was rocked by the Astros in Games 3 and 7 of that World Series, spoke with reporters Sunday at the Chicago Cubs' spring training facility in Mesa, Ariz.

"It's like the Olympics," Darvish said, per ESPN. "When a player cheats, you can't have a gold medal, right? But they still have a World Series title. It (feels) weird." Darvish took issue with his performance at the time, going so far as to question whether he was tipping his pitches. Now, he has another question.

"Was I tipping, or were they stealing?" Darvish asked last month. Darvish said he felt badly for the pitchers who lost their jobs as a result of the Astros gaining an unfair advantage.

The 33-year-old came under fire after posting a robust 21.60 ERA in his two appearances in the World Series. He gave up four runs in 1 2/3 innings to take the loss in Game 3 in Houston before surrendering five runs in 1 2/3 frames to receive the loss in Game 7 in Los Angeles. Darvish signed a six-year, $126 million contracts with the Cubs a few months later.

Major League Baseball conducted an investigation and declared that the Astros stole signs throughout the 2017 season, continued to do so for only part of the 2018 campaign and not in 2019. The Dodgers not only lost the 2017 World Series to the Astros, but they also dropped the championship series in 2018 to the Boston Red Sox, who are being investigated to determine if they stole opponents' signs electronically -- a violation of baseball rules.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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